Thankful for You
by thecosmicwind
Summary: Set in season 20. EO are married. Cute little Thanksgiving fluff and all that; best components for a Thanksgiving one shot! Rated T.


**Hello guys!**

 **Happy Thanksgiving my friends! Or if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, Happy Thursday :)**

 **But anyway, here's a cute little Thanksgiving one-shot! It's EO of course, set in current year! It's a cute little fluffy piece and I hope you all enjoy it!**

 **Enjoy xoxo**

* * *

 **Thankful for You [ONESHOT]**

If someone had come to Olivia Benson about seven years ago and told her that her future would consist of being in nice sized family home on the outskirts of Manhattan, dashing around a huge kitchen along with three stepdaughters and her sister in law while the guys watched the Thanksgiving football game and kept yelling boisterously from the living room, she would have laughed in the person's face

and probably punched them for putting such a perfect scenario into her head.

Life had a funny way of working out – that was for sure.

The changes had started gradually. Thanksgivings were normally spent on her own, then once she adopted her son, Noah, they were spent with babysitter Lucy and her family whom had taken her on as family as well. She had started cooking then when they started spending them with Lucy and her family; just small dishes like sweet potato casserole that she had learned to

make from her mother all those years ago, or the chocolate lava cake she had made after carefully following a recipe she had found online.

But things changed just two years ago, shortly before Noah's fourth birthday. She had begun dating her longtime friend and former partner Elliot Stabler, whom had supported her through her PTSD-inducing ordeals with the sadistic serial killer and rapist, through the fostering and later adoption of her son. One kiss after dinner one night led to a confession of over eighteen years worth of feelings, which led to a night of consummating the thing that had brewed between them for so long. Since then, her holidays had consisted of time with him, her son, and his five children that she had, had a strong bond with since they were young children. She had cooked a holiday meal for the first time then, and for the last two years, it was their thing.

Things were just a little different now. The three girls helping her in the kitchen this Thanksgiving were now her stepdaughters, and their father was her husband and had been now for three months. She was close with her brother again, her niece and nephew were close to their cousin Noah, and her sister in law – her brother's wife – was right here helping her in the kitchen.

This Thanksgiving was absolutely perfect.

"Okay Liv, the pumpkin pies are out and sitting here to cool." Kathleen announced as she placed the two freshly baked pies onto the counter. Olivia looked up from the other end of the counter, where she was seasoning the turkey.

"Thanks Katie; just change the temperature to three-twenty-five for me, please," she told her before looking over her shoulder at the other two girls; "Maur, Liz, how is that casserole coming along?"

"All good; finished mashing up the potatoes and stuff." Maureen replied.

"And the streusel is done," Lizzie chimed in before looking back at her stepmother; "But Liv, I hope it was okay that I went without the nuts and stuff."

" _Fuck_ ; I'm glad you said that because I was gonna tell you not to put the nuts in this time; thank God you seemed to have read my mind," Olivia giggled a bit, nudging her before looking over at her brother's wife; "Tracey, how's that macaroni and cheese looking?"

"It's perfect; it's looking perfect and smells perfect too." Tracey replied, nodding her head as she placed the freshly baked macaroni and cheese on the counter.

Olivia gave her a thumbs up before looking around; "What do we have left to make?"

"Hmm; the meatballs are in the crockpot, the turkey is about to go in the oven, the pies are done, and the sweet potato casserole is about to go into the other oven," Maureen looked around the kitchen before looking back at her stepmother; "Stuffing and gravy?"

"What about the rolls?" Kathleen chimed in.

"I'll warm them in the oven as it gets closer to dinner time," Olivia gestured at the three packages of store-bought rolls on the counter; "I'll take care of the stuffing and gravy." She glanced at her watch; "Aren't you girls meant to be going to see your mother and Ethan?" She was referring to their mother, Kathy, and her new husband, Ethan. The two of them were on Long Island, having dinner with Ethan's family, and the kids were all meant to go out to see her.

"Oh yeah we are," Lizzie replied as she slipped the sweet potato casserole into the other oven; "The platter of chocolate chip snickerdoodle cookies goes to them, right?"

"Yes, and don't try to sneak a couple - there's a whole platter here for you guys," she gestured to the other platter of cookies on the counter; "Okay, go get your brothers and go so you can get back in time for dinner."

"Can Noah come along?" Maureen asked as she and her sisters finished washing their hands.

"If he wants to," Olivia replied before smirking; "You guys doing that thing I used to do with Noah when he was a baby? Take him along when I go somewhere uncomfortable, so he could be the excuse if I didn't want to stay long?"

The girls burst out laughing, all shaking their heads as Kathleen chimed in; "That would probably work if he was actually uncomfortable around our mom, but instead he gets along with her and she treats him like one of her kids too."

Olivia simply laughed, shaking her head in despair. She always found it amusing how the girls were a little weirder about their mother being remarried rather than their father's second marriage. She, however, had no ill feelings towards Kathy. Any problems between the women had been squashed a long time ago since that time she saved both her and Eli's lives. They'd had a respect for one another and had even developed a friendship over the years. In fact, Kathy had been one of the nurses that would help take care of Noah whenever he was in the hospital as a baby due to his health problems. There would probably always be some unspoken competition between the women - the mother of Elliot's children vs the woman who'd always had his heart - but they never let it show. They were cool now and everyone had moved on for the better; that was all that mattered.

She sighed to herself and gave them all kisses on the cheek before brushing them out of the kitchen; "Go see your mother; and send my love to her and Ethan."

The girls nodded before filing out of the kitchen. Dickie and Eli popped into the kitchen briefly to tell her they'd be back soon before leaving with their sisters. Noah – whom had decided not to go with his step-siblings – came running into the kitchen with his older cousin Olivia, asking if they could go outside, while a now twelve-year-old Ty trailed behind them. Olivia nodded, and Tracey opted to join them outside as there wasn't much left to be done. While they headed outside, Olivia turned her attention back to the food. She started to prepare the stuffing, chuckling a bit to herself as she could hear Elliot in the living room along with her brother Simon, Maureen's husband Kevin, and Kathleen's boyfriend Derek; all four of them yelling yet again, something about the other team cheating, something about the refs not doing their jobs. She couldn't stop smiling; this was such a fucking beautiful Thanksgiving already.

It was only about twenty minutes later - while she was mixing the gravy to drizzle over the stuffing before baking it - that she felt a pair of arms slip around her waist and a pair of lips on her cheek. She smiled to herself as the calming scent of his aftershave washed over her, shielding her like a blanket and making her feel safe even when there was no danger present. That was him; always making her feel calm, easing every fear and worry, allowing her to feel that she was okay even during the craziest times.

"Smells good in here." He whispered before kissing her shoulder. She smiled to herself, still mixing the gravy whilst using the other hand to hold the box as she checked for the cooking time.

"See, I'm doing good with my cooking," she smacked his hand when she saw him reach for a cookie; "El, come on, I'll tell you the same thing I told Noah; _no_."

"But Liv..." he whined, trying to sound like an adorable child. Olivia rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she lowered the heat on the stove.

"No, you can wait like everyone else." She told him. He growled quietly before kissing her neck and shoulder again, moving her cardigan aside a bit to reveal her bare shoulder as she had been wearing a tank top underneath the cardigan. He continued to kiss her skin while stroking his thumb against her stomach, and her head fell back against his shoulder as he was stirring up something inside of her.

"Elliot, stop it," She nudged him in his stomach, smirking as he chuckled a bit; "Stop come on; I need you to be my taste tester anyway."

"You taste good." He mumbled as he sucked the spot behind her ear. She groaned quietly and nudged him again, letting out a giggle as his trimmed beard was tickling her.

"Babe, seriously." She whined. He chuckled, finally removing his lips from her skin before leaning in a bit. She fed him a bit of the gravy she had just made and smiled when he nodded his head in approval.

"Tastes great; just the right amount of seasonings with a little spice in it – good." He grinned. She nodded and thanked him before turning her head to kiss him properly. He squeezed her and kissed her back, rubbing her side gently before pulling away.

"I love you, Missus Stabler."

She smiled to herself; she never got tired of hearing that.

"I love you too, Mister Stabler."

* * *

A short while later, the kids were back and now, it was time to finally eat. The large dining room table was covered with dishes of food; the large turkey was in the middle, the stuffing and gravy was on one side while the sweet potato casserole was on the other side. There were rolls, meatballs, macaroni and cheese, a honey baked ham, some fried chicken, cranberry sauce, and kale as well. After Elliot blessed the table for them all, they were all allowed to dive in and enjoy the delicious food.

The dinner was spent laughing and talking together, enjoying their time together as a family. They reminisced about the highs and lows of the year, talked about what they were thankful for and what they wanted to accomplish between this Thanksgiving and the next one. Noah and his cousins and Eli all chatted together at the other end of the table, and Olivia was just glad that to be close with her brother and his family again as it was nice to have them around. This was a day about family and for so long, she had been without the luxury of such. Now that she had one – a proper one – she was certainly not taking it for granted.

Dessert consisted of pie and cookies; Olivia was forced to laugh when the kids – even the adult ones – all cheered when the cookies were brought out and they were finally allowed to eat them. After dessert, everyone headed into the lounge to watch the nightly football game together; not that there was much understanding of such from Olivia or Tracey or Lizzie, but the others seemed to be enjoying themselves as they all laughed and talked and such together. Olivia cuddled into her husband's side as she hugged his arm, tilting her head up to look at him. She slid her hand down his arm to link her left hand with his left hand, their glistening wedding bands twinkling in the lights of the lounge, a reminder of just how much life had changed for them.

After the football game, Elliot spoke up about the annual Stabler tradition of going around and mentioning what they were thankful for. Simon and Tracey went first and talked about how thankful they were to be close to Olivia again and to be in the presence of family during this holiday. Ty mentioned that he was thankful for the family, as did little Olivia. Noah mentioned that he was thankful for his friends and his family, especially his older brothers which led to Eli and Dickie playfully ruffling his hair. Eli mentioned that he was thankful for his family, especially his stepmother _Livia;_ something that hadn't been a surprise as they'd always had a special bond since he was born. Dickie discussed that he was thankful for his family and was thankful to Olivia for being a great partner and wife to his father and a great mother to them all. Maureen mentioned that in addition to being thankful for her family, she was truly thankful to have love in her life thanks to her husband, and Kevin mentioned that he was thankful for the same thing. Kathleen mentioned that she was thankful for similar things such as true love thanks to her boyfriend, and Derek agreed. Lizzie mentioned that she was thankful for all of her friends and family, especially for her father and stepmother.

And finally, it fell on Olivia and Elliot.

"Watch them say some mushy shit." Dickie snickered, earning a laugh from Noah and Eli.

"Language," Elliot gave him a look before chuckling a bit, "Well, I'm thankful for all of you of course, but I'm definitely thankful for this beauty beside me – she's been the best friend for twenty years, was the best partner for twelve years, and has been the best wife for the last few months; and I love her more than anything."

Maureen and Kathleen jokingly gagged while Dickie and Eli ran their hands down their faces as they had known something mushy was coming. Olivia giggled and leaned into Elliot, resting her head on his shoulder as she spoke;

"And I'm thankful for you guys, but especially for this handsome man right here – my best friend always, my partner in crime, and the best damn husband and father in the world that has helped make me the happiest woman alive."

Elliot smiled, squeezing her as he gazed into her eyes; "I love you."

"I love you too."

The two shared a sweet kiss, laughing against each other's lips as they ignored the laughs protests from their family members. They pulled apart after a few moments and fell into a warm embrace together as a bubble of love closed around them, making them so incredibly happy and allowing them to feel like they were on cloud nine.

Later in the night, the family had cleared out for the most part – Simon and Tracey and their kids had gone back into the city, Maureen and Kevin left and headed back to their townhouse in the city, and Kathleen and Derek headed back into the city to go home to their apartment. Noah and Eli had gone upstairs to their rooms and gone to bed, and after helping with tidying up the kitchen and putting the dishes away, Lizzie and Dickie had retreated to the guest rooms as well and gone to bed.

Elliot poured a glass of wine for himself and Olivia, before leading her to the living room. They curled up on the sofa straight away; Olivia had her head on his shoulder, his arm was around her shoulders and her rubbed his hand up and down her arm. As much as they loved their family, there was just something so special about finally being able to spend some time together.

"Today was really nice; I enjoyed it." He remarked as he grabbed the remote.

"It was perfect, I've never laughed so much," she paused to take a sip of her wine; "I don't know what it is, but I think this year is even better than the last."

"Because of this." He chuckled, grabbing her hand and linking his fingers through hers, smiling at the sight of the glistening band on her left ring finger. She nodded, bringing their linked hands up and placing a kiss on the back of his hand. She then turned her lips and kissed him, smiling against his lips as he smiled back.

"Happy Thanksgiving, honey; I love you more than you'll ever know."

Elliot gave her a smile, leaning towards her and placing another delicate kiss onto her lips before whispering;

"I love you too, beautiful; Happy Thanksgiving."

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 ** _Hey beautifuls! I hope you all enjoyed this cute lil thing! Sending love to all! Until next time xoxo_**


End file.
